Keyword List
Keywords: (Alphabetical order) Agenda: Keyword used by Inner Enemy. The agenda is the desired goal of a rebellious faction, whatever they strive to achieve. If they succeed, they will disband - however they are allowed to have multiple step plans, like disable military >> overthrow ruler >> assume control of government. After completing such a goal, they may assume control of the faction (either changing the ruler or the entire faction). Amount: The amount of uses the resource has. Having ‘Timber from the Dark Woods(Steady supply): 3’ means that three schemes using the timber for long-term effects can be made, before the well runs dry and no more timber can be had in this fashion. Note that the amount has nothing to do with the actual number, but instead it is how many times it can be used in reasonably large projects. Appearance: A description or representation of the physical appearance. Picture are appreciated :) Approach Keyword used by Inner Enemy. Is used together with agenda, but defines how the Inner Enemy seeks to change their target. Terrorism? Sly politics? Outright warfare? Defining Feature: A feature of a faction or realm that describes something truly out of the ordinary. Being an underwater kingdom, being a hivemind, being a mercenary company, having no sentient citizens, etc. Fatal Flaw: Stronger level of weakness. The point in which a character, faction, or group simply falls short, something they are incapable of dealing with. Ex. vampires with ‘Fatal Flaw: Sunlight’ cannot act during the day, a kingdom with ‘Fatal Flaw: Pacifist’ cannot engage in military actions, and fish with ‘Fatal Flaw: Lack of Water’ cannot leave bodies of water. Characters and factions can have multiple Fatal Flaws, but the important aspect is they cannot overcome these flaws without changing considerably. Ex. the fish may wear humanoid hazmat-surface suits, becoming cyborg-fishmen, but then they obviously differ from their pure-fish counterpart. Divine and unholy beings cannot overcome their Fatal Flaws. Such is the life of villains and Gods. From where: Where did you obtain the resource? Was it from another player? From a specific location? From slaughtering your own citizens? Henchmen: The Faction or Ruler’s trusted servants: Thugs, soldiers, a favoured assassin, deadly beast, magical sentient shadow, etc. Henchmen are unquestionably loyal - unless their Fatal Flaw or Weaknesses say otherwise. Holdings: Lands, mansions, houses, apartments, anything big enough to matter. Should be marked on the map. Inner Enemy Type. Inner Enemies describe someone a faction or ruler is struggling to suppress. The have two key rules: Agenda and Enemy Within. Agenda describes their ultimate goal, and at what stage they win and disperse, or at with stage they assume control, radically changing their target. Furthermore they have the Strength: Enemy Within, which means they cannot be directly destroyed by the faction they resist - they can be hindered, counteracted and so on, but not destroyed without the influence of outside forces. Inspiration: If inspired by something cool, please provide reference. Loyalties: Who or what does the ally serve other than the Faction? Purpose: What is the purpose of the Holding? Is it a city that provides income, a safe haven for refugees, a place of strategic military importance or something else? Religion: Which deities, demons, or other beings does the people of faction praise or fear? Feel free to expand on your pantheon in notes or in their own ‘Ally’ box. Resources: Material goods and things that can be traded to other players or used. Resources commonly exist with the express purpose of being used, and due to being in limited quantity. Ex. Knochenmark seeks to build a statue of gold, but lack any real access to gold. They could melt down the majority of their currency and crash their economy, or they could seek out a different Faction that can procure gold. Procuring resources from your own nations always comes at a cost (like expending the resource for good). Factions are assumed to have access to the resources that lesser merchants bring back-and-forth, and that allows the nation to continue it's everyday existence (lumber, food, clothing, etc.), but that shouldn't stop a player from procuring more of a resource for an extended effect ''- the nation suffering from starvation? Buy food off your neighbors to mitigate the starvation effect.'' Furthermore resources exists as steady supply and one-use ''covered under the keyword: ''Steady or one-time. Simply put, some resources are used for long term commitments, some are used for short term and immediate effects. Rival: A person, group, or concept that just barely falls short of the Factions’ Unparalleled power. If Knochenmark has “Scientific Advancement: Necrotech” as Unparalleled, there might be another nation, an ancient lich, or God of death, who has similar powers but are not as strong as the Nation of Knochenmark. The Rival can have a smaller focus, and surpass the Faction is that specific area, while being surpassed by the nation in all other aspects of the chosen subject. Ruler: The person or persons in charge of your faction. You are likely to role-play as this character during the game, as you attend diplomatic meetings with other factions or send angry letters. Status: Important details regarding a holding: Is it under siege? Is it empty of life? It is cursed? Does the Emperor of Xian use it as his vacation palace? Steady or one-time: Steady source allow long term commitments, ex. providing gold from taxes for Xian to keep their spies out of your lands. One-time resources are spent for instant or short term gain. Steady source CANNOT be stockpiled to create one-time uses. Strengths: A list of keywords of what the duties the person or Faction can perform well. The henchmen should generally succeed if their strengths align with whatever they are doing. Type of Government: What kind of government does your faction have? It’s fine if it doesn’t use correct terminology (all the different -cracies), just give a description: Do you have a monarch? Is it a Queen? Does she hold any real power, or is it secretly a democracy? Unparalleled: The power in which a Faction excels beyond all others in the world. What exactly being the best at a field means should be defined: ‘Unparalleled: Military’ could mean that the Faction has the world’s largest army, the strongest soldiers, the best generals or mix of these. Just remember that the Rival will have matching powers, just slightly weaker. So the Rival to the example above will not be capable of being a threat in fair military engagements, but it may prove problematic if it gathers allies. No two nations can have the same Unparalleled. Another faction can have a more focused version of the Unparalleled however, like ‘Unparalleled: Military naval’, which makes them superior in naval combat, but inferior in non-naval combat. Weaknesses: There are some things the character is not good at. It does not prevent them from carrying out their task, but delays or hinders them in some fashion. A thug with ‘Weakness: Law Enforcement’ finds it considerably more difficult to operate in the lawful lands of Xian, adding time or greater risk of failure - Note that Fatal Flaw is a stronger version of weakness, so a henchmen with ‘Fatal Flaw: Law Enforcement’ is completely incapable of operating within the borders of lawful Xian, or will be killed in the process. What: What is it? Used for holding and resources, it is the most base description: It’s a castle, it’s timber, it’s oil, it’s a hundred souls. Where: Where is it? Copy in a picture from the main map of where the holding of faction is located.